Ads Could Soon Be Popping Up On City-Owned Space

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The City of Pittsburgh is getting creative when it comes to finding ways to bring in more revenue.

The idea is to allow advertisers to place ads on city-owned space.

An example given by Councilman Bill Peduto was an ad for a brand of garbage bags on the side of a city garbage truck.

It’s something that could bring in a lot of much needed revenue for the city.

They’ll be tasteful ads, carefully placed on trash cans, recycling bins and parking meters as just a few examples.

As a way to generate extra money for the city, Peduto has been working on a proposal to use space the city already owns to make more cash.

A consultant agency estimates that by placing ads on city spaces and even websites, Pittsburgh could rake in between $800,000 to $2 million annually.

Councilman Peduto realizes that some may have concerns about the size, nature and location of future advertisements, but that’s something that a task force has been discussing and working on for years.

“I don’t want people to think that this means there’s going to be advertising everywhere in the city,” said Peduto. “The goal is to minimize what you see as you’re walking down the street, but at the same time, maximize the amount of profit the city can realize without putting billboards up or other things that would take away from the beauty of Pittsburgh.”

The ads will be G-rated. Naming rights and sponsorship opportunities is something that’s also being discussed. Legislation could be ready for a vote by next month.